Shares of Sysco Corp. sold off into negative territory in afternoon trading Thursday, after the company provided a profit outlook that was just in line with expectations, while setting a $5 billion stock repurchase program and boosting its dividend by 4.4%. The stock was down 0.9% in recent trading, after being up about 0.4% just before the announcement. The food product distribution company expects fiscal 2022 earnings per share of $3.23 to $3.43, surrounding the FactSet consensus of $3.33. The new repurchase program, which doesn’t have an expiration date, represents about 12% of Sysco’s market capitalization of $41.12 billion. The quarterly dividend increased to 47 cents a share from 45 cents, with the new dividend payable July 23 to shareholders of record on July 2. At current prices, the new annual dividend implies a dividend yield of 2.34%, compared with the implied yield of the S&P 500 of 1.41%. Sysco’s stock has tacked on 8.3% year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 10.8%.
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